30-year professional offering Blues Guitar Lessons

The lessons used in private lessons, as well as group workshops, attempt to familiarize students with chord voicing, playing in position, harmonizing, and some of the “comping” and soloing techniques used in blues playing.

CHORDS:
Chord Voicing
Playing in position, “keeping” fingers, and moving chords.
Harmonizing

COMPING:
Essential comping techniques; bass lines, and lumping.
Intros, endings and turnarounds.
Supporting the soloist/vocalist, serving the needs of the band.
Muting – left-hand/right-hand, pick-fingers, etc.
Right hand development.
Swing, Funky, Shuffle, Slow, R&B, using the chords.

SOLOING:
Style, what to play where.
Squeezing, bends and intonation.
Double-string technique.
Attack, feel, Mood and Dynamics.
Telling a story, building solos.
Sustain, Vibrato and Muting.
The Major-Minor problem.
Solo length, volume, and finding your own voice, tone, etc.

GENERAL ADVICE:
Songwriting
Honoring the classics, not re-inventing them.
The lexicon of the blues, stage-speak, and blues shorthand.
Dynamics!
Play blues with Blues people.
Listening, knowledge and building a blues glossary.
Rehearsing, practicing, professionalism, Audiences and Owners
No amps, finger strength, and working on one's weaknesses.

renetrossman.com
rtblues@gmail.com